After Reto Berra picked up his second shootout victory this week, Sven Baertschi revealed a little-known fact about the netminder.

"They called him King of Shootouts in Switzerland," he grinned. "He comes over here and he does so great, so far. It's good for us to have him back there. It's always good to have a confident goalie and even better if the guys are confident in him."

According to Baertschi, Berra has been dubbed as the King of Shootouts for quite some time.

"I can't even remember the last time he lost in a shootout in Switzerland when I followed him. It was like, 'Shootout again? Berra won again. Stopped all five of them.' He's been so good.

"This summer, we practiced and it was like 10 guys. Reto, it was his first practice with us, and he wanted us to go on him shootouts. So everybody went twice. And one guy scored. One goal out of 20 shots."

The next time the Flames practice shootouts, Baertschi may be the only one to score on him as Berra revealed his secret for success to the young winger earlier this year.

On Wednesday night, Swiss netminder Reto Berra got the C of Red on their feet in the first period with a stop that could be dubbed the Save Of The Year.

While the Flames were shorthanded, an unimpeded Jack Johnson skated to the left face-off circle and, it appeared, had a wide open net to hammer the puck into.

But, Berra, who was on the other side of the net anticipating a shot from Ryan Johansen, managed to get across and threw his legs in the air just as Johnson sent a shot towards the net. He kicked the puck out of mid-air with his right foot, spurring on wild applause from the crowd at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

"We should be watching that one for years to come," Joe Colborne afterwards.

A day after the Calgary Flames goaltender allowed three goals in a six-minute span -- including one from below the goal line -- that pulled the Edmonton Oilers from a 2-0 deficit into their first win in six games, Hartley gave Berra vote of confidence by announcing him as the starter for Monday’s tilt against the Winnipeg Jets.

“Obviously we all saw the third goal and I sat with him,” Hartley said. “It’s a mental challenge for him also. I felt that he played very well, gave us a chance. He was not overly busy but in the second period he made two, three pads saves at the other end and I felt that he was sharp.”

The stats may say otherwise. Berra allowed three goals on 23 shots as the Flames fell for a fifth consecutive game. The 6-foot-4 goaltender has been tagged with four of those losses.

But working Berra through his struggles as he adapts to both North American ice and the National Hockey League is essential for his development.

“Even though he’s 26 years old, there’s still a lack of experience at this level,” Hartley said. “He’s learning too, but he’s working and giving us a chance to play and I like everything I see out of him.”

The numbers may not reflect it, but he’s right.

In his six starts, Berra has recorded a save percentage of .900 or better just twice -- his debut against the Chicago Blackhawks (.955) on November 3rd and Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks (.914). In both contests, Berra singlehandedly stole points for Calgary.

Throwing him up against the Jets shows that Hartley thinks Berra can do it again.

Calgary Flames prospect Jon Gillies, a sophomore, has become the Providence College Friars all-time shutouts leader after making 22 saves in a 3-0 victory over the University of Vermont on Saturday night.

It is Gillies' eighth collegiate shutout and his eighth win of the year.

The Flames selected Gillies in the third round (75th overall) in the 2012 NHL Draft.